Haunted By Secrets
by Biscuit15
Summary: When a new student joins Namimori Middle, strange things begin happening. At first it's minor things, like doors seemingly opening by themselves and hearing footsteps when no one else is around. But eventually, the truth comes out and things take a dangerous, frightening turn for the worse.


"Alright, guys, we have a new student joining us today."

Tsuna looked up from the sketchbook he had been scribbling in. He hadn't heard of a new student, so it came as a surprise; it seemed a bit late in the year for someone to transfer. Nonetheless, he was still interested, and when he moved his gaze to the front of the classroom, he found a blond boy with long bangs obscuring his eyes standing by the blackboard. Their appearance was anything but Japanese; he looked almost European.

Tsuna cocked his head to the side; if the frown on the other's face wasn't enough, Tsuna swore he could feel nothing but anger and depression wafting from the boy.

"His name is Belphegor." Their teacher continued on, as if they couldn't sense the distress that radiated from the new student like heat from a raging fire. "He has just transferred here, and I hope you'll all make him feel welcome."

The room was silent. Maybe Tsuna wasn't the only one who could sense that something was off about the newcomer. He looked over his shoulder at his silver-haired friend, finding that the older male's green eyes were narrowed in suspicion. So Gokudera could feel it, too…

"Belphegor, go take that empty seat in the middle."

Tsuna watched Belphegor walk silently into the middle of the desks. He took the seat behind Tsuna and to the brunet's right, and there, he did nothing but stare straight ahead – that was, until he noticed the smaller male staring at him.

Belphegor turned his head to glare at the brunet. Tsuna couldn't help but shiver; something in the other's gaze was unsettling, and he almost felt as if he were in danger. The smaller male turned back to look anywhere but at the new student; the last thing he needed was to cause more trouble for himself.

Their first class dragged by uneventfully. It was a catch-up class for maths since most of the students had missed it for school-related events – a class that Tsuna knew he stood no hope with anyway. The classroom had been quiet during it, and while most people worked hard with their head down, he couldn't help but notice how Belphegor hadn't even pulled his books from his bag by his feet; the blond had just stared out of the window, looking lost.

Now that the bell had sounded and the students had been dismissed for break, Tsuna stayed behind to approach the teacher. It was a tousle-haired blond, a man whom the brunet had been close to since before the older male started working here as a teacher.

"Dino-san?"

The teacher looked up from the papers he had been packing into his bag. His hazel eyes sparkled as he smiled at the younger. "Yo, Tsuna. What's up?"

"Umm…" The student fumbled with his hands self-consciously before he spoke his mind. His two friends had already left the classroom to wait for him in their usual hang-out spot, and for that, he was almost glad; he knew that his silver-haired friend would create a fuss if he knew what they were talking about. "The new student…"

"Belphegor?" Dino's smile never faltered. "What about him?"

"Is… Is he… _okay_ …?" Tsuna didn't know how to explain it; all he knew was that he got some very uncomfortable vibes from the younger blond, and it really worried him.

"Eh… When I was talking to Squalo last night, he said that Belphegor transferred from his old school because of bullying." The blond ran his hand through his hair as he tried to convey his thoughts. "He said the poor thing got kicked out of the school for standing up for himself. He didn't give me details, but he asked me to keep an eye on him because he's mentally ill."

"Mentally ill? In what way?" Tsuna wasn't judging; he would never judge someone for something out of their control. He was simply… _curious,_ and he wondered if there was anything he could do to help.

"I don't know; Squalo didn't say. But from looking at him today, I'd say he's pretty troubled. I don't know how he's going to go academically, either; he's sixteen, and yet he's below the year level he should be in for his age. Look, Tsuna; just be nice to him, okay? He's been bullied, so he's probably very uncomfortable here where he doesn't know anyone."

Tsuna nodded. "Yeah, I will, Dino-san. I should get going; Yamamoto and Gokudera are waiting for me."

"Oh, Tsuna?" Dino waited for the brunet to turn back to him. "Squalo told me to tell you he wants to see you at some stage today; he says it's important."

"Oh, I'll go see him now, then. Thanks, Dino-san." With a wave to his teacher, Tsuna was gone.

The walk down to the vice principal's office wasn't a long one; it was just around the corner from the brunet's classroom. The door was ajar, so Tsuna didn't think too much of it; he assumed that the long-haired vice principal wasn't busy for once and was just about to walk in unannounced, but he stopped when he heard two people talking from inside.

"I can take you to the school counsellor if you want me to."

"I don't want to talk to them…"

"Why not?"

"…Because they… make things worse…"

"How so, brat?"

"…"

Now, the vice principal wasn't exactly known for being quiet; he was excruciatingly loud and always seemed to be in a bad mood – so to hear the silver-haired man actually sounding _gentle_ for once made Tsuna feel a little better about having to see him; no one liked having to walk into the office because they always left just a little deafer than before.

But if Tsuna had thought the vice principal was going to be quiet and _nice_ to _him,_ too, he was mistaken.

"Voi! What the fuck do you think you're doing, walking in here like that?!" The long-haired man was as loud as ever as he pointed to the doorway. "Can't you see I'm busy?! Wait your fucking turn!"

As intimidated as Tsuna was, he didn't miss Bel sitting on the couch with the vice principal everyone knew as Squalo standing right next to him. The boy had been staring down at his lap with a frown on his face, and Squalo had been reaching out to touch him by the time the brunet walked in.

"S-sorry!" Tsuna didn't hesitate to back out of the room and close the door behind him, but even in doing so, he could still hear the others' conversation from inside.

"Brat? Do you want to talk to me instead? What's bothering you?"

"…You won't understand…"

"I bet I could. Try me."

"…"

Tsuna swallowed thickly. He knew that he was eavesdropping on something that didn't concern him, so he left to find his friends. He would come back later to talk to Squalo, because he had a feeling that what the two were talking about was something he didn't want to hear.


End file.
